In the spotlight
Facebook can be forced to remove content worldwide after landmark EU court ruling
reuters, 03.10.2019
The judgment means social platforms can be forced to seek out hateful content deemed illegal by a national court in the 28-country bloc rather than wait for requests to remove posts as it currently does under EU rules.
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Google and the right to be forgotten
forbes, 03.10.2019
In a case I have been closely following, France’s data-privacy watchdog, CNIL (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés), investigated Google’s non-compliance with the consent and transparent aspects of EU and France’s privacy laws in 2018.
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Europe’s top court says active consent is needed for tracking cookies
techcrunch, 01.10.2019
Europe’s top court has ruled that pre-checked consent boxes for dropping cookies are not legally valid. Consent must be obtained prior to storing or accessing non-essential cookies, such as tracking cookies for targeted advertising. Consent cannot be implied or assumed.
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Explained: the ‘right to be forgotten’ on the Internet
expressindia, 30.09.2019
Arriving at a landmark ruling, the ECJ has now restricted applying the privacy law beyond the EU. On Tuesday, the European Union’s highest court ruled that an online privacy rule known as the ‘right to be forgotten’ under European law would not apply beyond the borders of EU member states.
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Agriculture & Environment
Absence of children’s climate change literature regrettable
newsday, 30.09.2019
Climate change is the most topical and problematic issue of our time and its literature is still restricted to a few readers and on few platforms as well. Influential and interactive platforms such as social media, digital publishing, websites and video recordings are not accessible to many, coupled….
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FAO, UN Environment deepen their partnership
fao-en, 27.09.2019
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) renewed their partnership on Thursday, pledging to cooperate in areas of common interest.
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Transport & Energy
Grouping ‘smart cities’ into types may help aspiring city planners find a path
eurekalert, 02.10.2019
A comparative analysis of “smart cities” worldwide reveals four distinct types, according to an international team of researchers. The categories may help city planners to identify and emulate models that are close to their own socio-economic circumstances and policy aspirations.
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NewSpace will eliminate sun-synchronous orbits
spacedaily, 01.10.2019
NewSpace is a recently formed movement and philosophy that encompasses a globally emerging private spaceflight industry. This term is generally used in connection with a global private sector of new aerospace companies and ventures. One primary objective is to develop faster, better and cheaper access to space and spaceflight technologies.
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Information society
Blockchain and cryptocurrency – AFME European Compliance and Legal Forum speech supports french innovation of DLT
forbes, 04.10.2019
The Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), part of the French financial regulatory system announced today, October 3rd, in a speech by the AMF Chairman at the AFME European Compliance and Legal Forum in Paris that financial authorities need to rapidly adapt a blockchain and cryptocurrency regulatory stance to suppress barriers to entry as well as mitigate any new risks.
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Facebook scrambles to keep Libra on track as partners waver
4-traders, 02.10.2019
Cracks are forming in the coalition Facebook Inc. assembled to build a global cryptocurrency-based payments network. Visa Inc., Mastercard Inc. and other financial partners that signed on to help build and maintain the Libra payments network are reconsidering their involvement following backlash from U.S. and European government officials, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Food & Health
Large-scale mapping of protein networks behind tumor growth in the lungs
eurekalert, 03.10.2019
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have used highly sophisticated molecular analyses to identify key proteins in the signaling pathways that cancers use to spread in the body. The study could help in personalizing cancer treatment and develop new drugs. Lung cancer is the biggest cause of cancer-related deaths in the world.
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Cooked food alters gut bacteria population: Study
business-standard, 02.10.2019
Eating cooked food alters the microbiomes of both mice and humans, according to a study with implications for understanding how cooking may have prehistorically altered the evolution of the microbes in our gut.
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Discovered new regulation for infant growth
alphagalileo, 01.10.2019
Researchers at the University of Bergen in Norway have identified new genetic signals for the regulation of how infants grow. This may be a crucial step in the fight against growth-related diseases. .
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Science policy & Communication
Facebook says removed multiple accounts from Indonesia, UAE, Nigeria, and Egypt
reuters, 04.10.2019
The operation in Indonesia involved a network of over 100 fake accounts on Facebook and Instagram posting content in English and Indonesian either in support or criticizing the West Papua independence movement, which is active in the country’s restive easternmost region of Papua.
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Education 3 days ago African students are leveraging digital education to obtain International Degrees
dailypost, 04.10.2019
Africa is going digital, and this is happening rapidly unlike ever before. Access to digital communication technologies is now an intricate part of the lives of many people in Africa, most especially the middle class. Nigeria for instance, Africa’s most populous country, and the most populous black nation in the World, already enjoys 47.1% internet penetration.
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EU initiatives
Over 600 politicians join #EURegionsWeek to debate future of Europe and regional policy
eureporter, 04.10.2019
On 7 October, the European Week of Regions and Cities will kick off its 17th edition in Brussels to discuss how cohesion policy can help to make Europe greener, more inclusive and smarter. Opened by a high-level debate on the future of Europe, the Week will hold nearly 400 events including a high-level conference on the transformation of coal regions.
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Sustainable finance: Council agrees position on a unified EU classification system
consilium-europa, 25.09.2019
At present, there is no common classification system at EU or global level which defines what is an environmentally sustainable economic activity. The proposed regulation is meant to address two challenges: reduce fragmentation resulting from market-based initiatives and national practices; reduce “greenwashing”, i.e. the practice of marketing financial products as “green” or “sustainable”, when in fact they do not meet basic environmental standards.
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Curious news
Helsinki: A Nordic paint company launches a new collection to protect endangered species
finanznachrichten-en, 03.10.2019
Tikkurila’s new Endangered Colors collection consists of nine different colors, each representing an endangered animal species – such as giant panda, Siberian tiger and snowy owl. Tikkurila donates one euro per sold product to the protection of endangered animals.
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Technology: at ENEA the first European Institutional mirror of software heritage
enea-en, 03.10.2019
The ENEA Research Center in Bologna will host the first Italian Mirror of World’s Largest Source Codes Archive: the Software Heritage Archive. Software Heritage is an established non-profit initiative launched by Inria, the French National Institute for Digital Sciences, aimed at collecting,….
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EPICA, the AI start-up, wins the cutting edge technology award at South Summit Madrid
prnewswire, 03.10.2019
The competition gathers a hundred start-ups to find the next unicorn. This scenario has become a worldwide benchmark for innovation due to the high quality of the start-ups that come together in front of +1,000 investors.
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